Conde Nast is reeling from what is expected to be a loss of 5,000 ad pages this year, translating into a revenue shortfall of between $275 million and $350 million — and very likely pushing the publishing giant into the red.

Vogue is one of the magazines whose ad pages are down; and in The September Issue, viewers see Anna Wintour spend, spend, spend. When Wintour cuts a photo shoot, the magazine's creative director, Grace Coddington sighs, "They've probably thrown out $50,000 worth of work," according to today's Gatecrasher column. And, notes Horyn, magazines like Vogue have always "readily projected a spare-no-expense mentality to help maintain their status." She continues:

A fashion shoot at a magazine like Vogue, or Vanity Fair, or W, can easily cost $150,000. Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, has killed shoots that didn't meet her standards and ordered them reshot. Such creative excess serves Vogue's star image, like the Town Cars waiting outside Condé Nast, and apparently has been condoned by management so long as revenues are high… It may be difficult for outsiders to appreciate the logic in fashion shoots that require a team of 30 photographic assistants, digital producers, lighting experts, hairstylists, makeup artists, a manicurist, editorial gofers and caterers to feed everyone. It's not uncommon at a top American magazine, editors say, to spend $5,000 a day just on food at a shoot.

But these days, there's a recession afoot. And last we heard, Vogue's September 2009 issue will only be around 450 pages — almost half of what it was 2 years ago — making The September Issue not only a documentary of what it takes to make a fashion magazine, but, quite possibly, evidence of the end of an era.